Today I

Found Out

Today I found out why mint tastes cold.  Similar to why peppers taste hot, what’s going on here is there is a chemical in mint, menthol, which is tricking the brain into thinking that the area the menthol is applied is cold; even though in fact it’s the same as it was before.  Specifically,  Menthol [...]

Today I found out why peppers taste hot.  The heat sensation is caused by Capsaicin, which is a colorless, odorless, oily chemical found in peppers.  Capsaicin binds with certain sensory neurons which then more or less trick your body into thinking that it is being burned or at least experiencing excessive amounts of heat in [...]